“She hates to be called Delia,” I murmured. “Her friends call her Lee.”
“And what do you call her?” Tracy asked, as she cooed at Hope.
I smirked to myself. “I call her princess.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lee
The world is dark and I am the darkest element. My heart, my soul, my inner being and core… Everything is dark. I can’t break into the light. There is only one thing, one piece of brightness, in this inescapable pit of despair. That light has a name. His name is Kyle Carter.
“Lee, baby, can you hear me? Come on, open your eyes, sweetheart.”
I could, oh, I could hear him.
I’d heard him every day.
His voice kept me company in the darkness. His voice kept me from falling into the darkness.
“Kyle,” I croaked.
My eyelids were heavy; they felt like they’d been sewn shut.
My entire body ached.
“I’m here, princess.” He sounded excited.
I felt my lips twitch into a smile. Oh good, at least I had some facial function.
For a moment, I’d thought I’d broken my head or something.
A hand clasped mine, and then another stroked my forehead.
I knew both hands belonged to Kyle. I knew his touch. I’d pick it out of thousands.
I tried to open my eyes again and this time, thankfully, they did.
Strong sunlight blinded me, and I had to blink a few times to focus on the face leaning over me.
“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Kyle said, his voice breaking a little. “Long time, no see.”
He brushed his lips against mine, lightly.
“So, my cocoa sucks, does it?” I croaked.
Kyle jerked back, eyes wide in shock. “Holy shit, you heard all that?”
I nodded. “Bits and pieces…not everything. Some stuff is fuzzy.”
Kyle shook his head.
“Well, shit,” he muttered. “I kinda feel like I need to do a mental recap on all what I said.”
“Where’s Hope? Is she…okay?”
“Yeah, she’s having some one on one time, with her Uncle Derek.”
Kyle smiled funnily and I was instantly suspicious. I watched his face; he was hiding something.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.
He blushed, and ducked his head for a moment.
“I have some news, baby,” he whispered.
“Okay, shoot,” I said.
Kyle flinched, causing me in turn, to cringe.
“Do you remember what happened to you?” he asked.
I nodded.
I remembered being shot, and I remembered Cam passing out…It was blurry after that.
“Well, baby, you got hurt, real bad. They removed one of your kidneys,” he whispered. “But the doctors had to put you in an induced coma, while they waited on a kidney donor for the other.”
“Oh my god,” I whispered.
No wonder every part of my body was aching. I’d been shot twice, and had surgery on my organs twice.
“Oh, that’s not the best of it,” Kyle muttered. “Lee, I…I’m really not sure there’s any way to tell you this, other than to just come right out and say it…”
“Just tell me,” I snapped.
“Your mother is alive.”
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “She’s dead. Daddy told me she died when I was a baby…when she was giving birth to me. You must be mistaken.”
Kyle sighed heavily.
He ran his hand through his hair. “She’s alive, Lee. She is alive and breathing. I’ve met her. She’s the one who saved you, baby. She gave you a kidney….”
“Stop,” I screamed, needing Kyle to shut the hell up so I could process what he was telling me.
“Just stop a second.” I exhaled harshly, and it hurt. “I can’t…I don’t…What do you mean you’ve met her?”
“She’s nice, baby,” he mumbled. “She’s a real nice lady.”
“No,” I snapped. “I can’t deal with that, right now.”
I was no fit state of mind to even humor this crazy, fucked up conversation.
Personally, I didn’t believe it…
“Baby, if you’ll talk to her, you’ll understand everything. Your father, he’s….Oh, Lee, she’s so fragile…”
“No,” I warned. “No, Kyle.”
Kyle sighed heavily, and nodded in defeat.
“Where is she?” I asked suddenly, as the fear caused my body to shake. “Where’s Rachel?”
Kyle leaned forward and held my face in his hands.
“She’s gone, princess,” Kyle whispered staring straight into my eyes. “She was arrested. She is being charged with a multitude of charges. She won’t be getting out any time soon.